'Rocket City Rednecks' taping new episodes, getting set to launch second season this fall

The Rocket City Rednecks, from left, Dr. Pete Erbach, Dr. Travis Taylor, Charles Taylor, Rog Jones and Michael Taylor, take a break from taping episodes for the new season to pose in Charles' back yard. (John Perry / Special to The Times)

On Saturday morning, camera crews shot through a plastic shield and from far back in the yard as Dr. Travis Taylor knelt in the road in front of his daddy's place near Somerville. He carefully led wires to what looked like well-machined tailpipes sticking out the back of two little metal cars that kids might pedal around.

The pipes were K-class solid-fuel rocket motors. A few minutes earlier, during a serious safety meeting, Travis told everyone to expect lots of flames and to see the tiny cars roll from 0 to 100 mph in about two seconds. "I want two people on fire watch," he said, also assigning a safety person to each cameraman.

After setting up the race, Travis and the rest of the Redneck team - his dad, Charles Taylor; longtime friend Rog Jones; nephew Michael Taylor; and brother-in-law Dr. Pete Erbach - moved to a safe distance for a countdown.

3, 2, 1 - NOISE!!!

The two rocket cars blast off. (John Perry / Special to The Times)

Focused flame and sparks shot from the cars, which quickly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The black one went off-roading into the trees. The pink car went airborne, turned 180 degrees and flew back out of the smoke to a crash landing in a neighbor's driveway.

No injuries. No fires. No, they won't be doing that again, Travis said, at least not that way.

"I got chewed out by a neighbor," Michael said, walking up the driveway to the Taylors' garage/engineering center with the twisted toy car.

"Rocket City Rednecks" premiered last year and quickly became the National Geographic Channel's highest-rated new series in 2011. A number of critics as well as viewers responded to the unique mix of family, friends, lots of fun, a little Southern sensibility and home-built projects backed up by real science.

Travis, who works for the Army on Redstone Arsenal, just picked up his second doctoral degree from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, this one in Aerospace Systems Engineering. Erbach also holds a doctorate, and designs visible and infrared imagers and laser systems at Polaris Sensor Technologies in Huntsville.

Season One included "bombproofing" a truck with beer cans, putting together an "Iron Man"-style suit and building a working submarine. As in "real life" labs, they're dealing with constrained budgets and schedules, coming up with new ways to solve problems and test ideas.

"I hope that what we do is entertain and get across some good ideas at the same time," Travis said.

Erbach said they don't want to just have silly fun. "It's got to have a purpose," he said. "Otherwise, we'd all be bored."

The National Geographic/Flight 33 Production crew captures the action as the Rocket City Rednecks wire the igniters of two rocket cars. (John Perry / Special to The Times)

They're halfway through with taping episodes for the second season, which will begin airing sometime this fall. They are definitely not boring, said Jason King, who recently became a field producer on "Rednecks" for Flight 33 Productions.

"I just couldn't believe what these guys are doing in their garage," he said.

They aren't allowed to reveal details right now, but this fall's episodes will include scenes of Travis in full firefighter's turnout gear. There will be lasers. And, of course, there will be rockets.

"We're excited," Travis said Saturday, having chicken with the crew at a big picnic table under the trees in the back yard. "We've stepped it up this season. Things are bigger. The projects are louder, brighter, more explosive."